Days of Saint-Petersburg were opened in the capital of Estonia – “Petersburg meetings in Tallinn”

The event has been organized by the administration of Saint-Petersburg together with the town-hall of Tallinn with the support of the Centre of National Glory and the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called, the Baltic House Theatre-Festival, the Tallinn Centre of “Russian Culture” and Estonian non-commercial organization “Russian House”.

The grand opening of the “Petersburg meetings” took place on May 20 at the “Estonia” Concert Hall where the gala-concert of St. Petersburg’s masters of the arts
was held. That evening the citizens of the Estonian capital saw the performance of the Mariinsky Theatre stars: the People’s Artist of Russia Vassily Gerello, the Distinguished Artist of Russia Maria Ludko, the lead ballet dancers and the “Terem-quartet” Ensemble.

The address speech of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre of National Glory and the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called Vladimir I. Yakunin was sent to the participants of “Petersburg Meetings in Tallinn”.

In the morning of May 21st at the Metsakalmistu cemetery (Tallinn) the delegation of the Centre of National Glory and representatives of the Estonian non-commercial organization “Russian House” laid the flowers on the tomb of the legendary military pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Endel K. Puusepp. During the Great Patriotic War Endel Puusepp delivered the Soviet delegation to Great Britain and then to the USA in order to run the negotiations about the opening of the second front. In 2007 the Centre of National Glory in the framework of the project “Serving the Motherland: events and names” realized the charity programme in memory of Endel Puusepp. It was also the year when the grave of the outstanding Estonian and Soviet pilot was restored.

The same day on May 21 a meeting of Director of the Turner Scientific Research Institute for Children’s Orthopedics (Saint-Petersburg) Alexey Baindurashvilly and the staff of the Tallinn children hospital took place. As professor Baindurashvilly noticed, the medical specialists came from the Northern capital to reinstate friendly and professional contacts which had been lost for some time. “It is important to revive what has been forgotten, to cure this forgetfulness a little bit. We are thankful to the Centre of National Glory for initiating such meetings. Today the professional questions are being discussed here. And the successful cooperation (which I hope will last) is based on human relationships” – he emphasized. In her turn the vice-mayor of Tallinn on Healthcare and Social Matters Marike Martinson reminded that previous “Petersburg Meetings” in Tallinn were mainly connected with cultural events and now for the first time after a long break it has been a jumpstart for close cooperation in the field of medicine. “It is important for both Estonian doctors and for our Petersburg colleagues” – Marike Martison noticed.

One more important meeting was held in the Tallinn Institute of Slavonic Languages and Cultures. Here Director of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Science (Saint-Petersburg) and famous literature specialist and translator, professor Vsevolod Ye. Bagno delivered a lecture on “Interaction of cultures and literatures” for students and teachers of the Institute.

Also on May 21 the Centre of Russian Culture in Tallinn in the framework of the Russian film festival “Literature and Cinema” the new film by actress and director Vera Glagoleva – “Two women” – was presented. The film is based upon the novel by Ivan. S. Turgenev “A Month in the Country”. Recently this work was praised by critics at the film festival “Literature and Cinema”. And now this film was well received by the Estonian viewers.

The day finished with the official reception on behalf of the Tallinn administration. At the reception the vice-president of the Centre of National Glory Zalina G. Medoyeva thanked Tallinn’s acting mayor Taavi Aas for hospitality and expressed hope that the projects which started during the “Petersburg Meetings in Tallinn” will continue. Also Zalina Medoyeva asked to give her wishes for soon recovery to the mayor of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar.

In conclusion the delegation of the Centre of National Glory donated a reproduction of the unique portrait of Estonian opera singer Georg Ots.

The Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called and the Metropolia of Patras of the Greek Orthodox Church held the International Conference on “The Voice of Saint Andrew the First-Called in the Modern World” in Patras, Greece. Participants discussed probable answers to the “challenges of the modern world” – for example, “dissolution of civilizational identity of […]

On behalf of the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called the cooperation agreement was signed by Vladimir Yakunin as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. On behalf of the Karić Brothers Foundation the agreement was signed by Dragomir Karić, its founder and head, Deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of […]